Slidably removable padlock assembly

ABSTRACT

A padlock assembly is disclosed which includes a padlock which can be slidably mounted on tracks of mating base plates mounted on a door and door jamb, respectively. The padlock has a latch which is adapted to engage a latch-retaining member mounted on the base plate of the door jamb and be locked in position. The latch and latch-retaining member are entirely enclosed by the body of the padlock when the padlock is mounted in position on both base plates, thereby eliminating conventional hasps, shackles, loops, etc. The padlock can be quickly and easily removed from the base plates.

United States Patent Crepinsek Mar. 12, 1974 SLIDABLY REMOVABLE PADLOCK2,132,606 10/1938 Courtney .1 70/131 ASSEMBLY I Primary ExaminerRobertL. Wolfe [75] Inventor. Alois Creplnsek, San Jose, Calif. Attorney Agentor Firm Harry G weissenbergen [73] Assignee: Security TechnologyCorporation, Esq.; Robert W. Dilts, Esq.; Carlisle M. Moore. Esq.

San Jose, Calif. 22 Filed: Sept. 5, 1972 [57] ABSTRACT Appl. No.:286,029

[56] References Cited UNlTED STATES PATENTS 2,103,989 12/1937 Machinist70/131 3,659,885 5/1972 Nail 292/2 A padlock assembly is disclosed whichincludes a padlock which can be slidably mounted on tracks of matingbase plates mounted on a door and door jamb. respectively. The padlockhas a latch which is adapted to engage a latch-retaining member mountedon the base plate of the door jamb and be locked in position. The latchand latch-retaining member are entirely enclosed by the body of thepadlock when the padlock is mounted in position on both base plates,thereby eliminating conventional hasps, shackles, loops, etc. The

2 Claims, 10 Drawing Figures PATENTEMmz 1914 379E071:

saw a or 2 FIGJO SLIDABLY REMOVABLE .PADLOCK ASSEMBLY BACKGROUND OF THEINVENTION l.- Field of the Invention The invention relates to locks;and, more particularly to a padlock assembly which includes a padlockwhich can be quickly mounted on or removed from track members mounted ona door and door jamb, respectively, whereby the working components ofthe padlock are entirely enclosed by the body thereof.

2. Description of the Prior Art Conventional padlocks include a hingedor sliding shackle that provides the means for locking the padlock bypassing through a staple, eye or loop of a hasp or the like provided onthe door or receptacle to be fastened. The shackle is then closed andlocked so that it cannot be released without a proper key.

Generally, such shackles have one end which is not removable from thecase or housing portion of the padlock. That is, this end is generallyslidably disposed in an aperture in the case of the padlock and retainedtherein by a shackle-retaining member when in a locked position.Usually, this is accomplished by providing an arcuate cutout portion inone leg of the shackle which receives the retaining member, such as aspring-biased ball or the like, when the shackle is locked. The ball isretained in this position by conventional locking and unlocking means,such as a cylinder, associated with the case of the padlock.

Further, rain or the like may enter such shackle holes in the case andquickly rust or otherwise corrode the inner mechanisms thereof,

Generally, the outer diameter of conventional shackles is only aboutone-fourth inch or so. By cutting away an arcuate portion thereof, onlyabout one-eighth inch or so of the shackle is left. Such a relativelyvsmall area of retention for the padlock enables such padlocks to beeasily opened. For example, since the shackle is only about one-fourthinch or so in outer diameter, it can be easily cut. The loop or eye ofthe hasp into which the shackle is inserted may also be cut. Modernmaterials, such as case-hardened steel, have been used to prevent this.However, acid may be poured down the aperture in the case in which theheel portion of the shackle is locked. The acid will eat away the springbiasing the ball or similar retaining member since, in most cases, onlyabout /s-inch movement thereof is required. A blow or the like on thetop of the case will then quickly separate the case from the shackle.

Further, as discussed previously, such padlocks are generally used withhasps or the like. Such hasps include a loop fixed on a door (or doorjamb) and require a hinged plate-on the door jamb (or door) having aslot therein which passes over the loop. The shackle of the padlock isthen passed through this loop and locked in position. In some cases, thehinge pin holding the plate may be removed by unscrewing, acidtreatment. etc.

There thus exists a need for a lock assembly which eliminatesconventional shackles, loops, hasps or the like and thus cannot bepicked or destroyed by conven- SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION It is an objectof this invention to provide a padlock assembly without any exposedworking parts.

It is a further object of this invention to provide a padlock assemblywhich can be quickly and easily moved into and out of lockingengagement.

It is still another object of this invention to provide a padlockassembly having no conventional parts thereof, such as shackles, loopsand hasps, which can be easily cut away.

It is another object of this invention to provide a padlock assemblyhaving no hinged parts and which can be operated with only one hand.

These and other objects are preferably accomplished by providing apadlock which can be slidably mounted on tracks of mating base platesmounted on a door and door jamb, respectively. The padlock has a latchwhich is adapted to engage a latch-retaining member mounted on the baseplate of the door jamb and be locked in position. The latch andlatch-retaining membar are entirely enclosed by the body of the padlockwhen the padlock is mounted in position on both base plates, therebyeliminating conventional hasps, shackles, loops, etc. The padlock can bequickly and easily removed from the base plates.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1 is a vertical view of a portionof a mating door and door jamb having base plates mounted thereon inaccordance with the teachings of my invention;

FIGS. 2 and 3 are end views of the door and door jamb, respectively,taken along the lines 22 and 3-3 of FIG. 1, respectively;

- FIG. 4 is a front elevational view of a padlock to be used in thepadlock assembly of my invention;

FIG. 5 is a top plan view of the padlock of FIG. 4;

FIG. 6 is an end view of the padlock of FIG. 4;

FIG. 7 is a rear view of the padlock of FIG. 4 showing the latch memberin its normal unlocked position;

FIG. 8 is a rear view of a portion of the padlock of FIG. 4 showing thelatch member in its locked position;

FIG. 9 is a perspective view of the complete padlock assembly of myinvention showing the padlock slid into position on the base plate of adoor prior to locking the assembly; and

FIG. 10 is an elevational view of the padlock assem- DESCRIPTION OF THEPREFERRED EMBODIMENT Referring now to the drawings, FIG. 1 shows a pairof elongated generally flat base plates 10 and 11. Plate 10 is mountedon a door 12 or the like while plate 11 is mounted on a door jamb 13. Ofcourse, the term door is relative and may refer to any closure memberassociated with an opening, such as a closet, window, receptacle, etc.,that it is desired to lock.

Plates 10 and 11 may be secured to door 12 and door jamb 13 by anysuitable means, such as screws, nuts and bolts, etc. However, it ispreferable that no part of such securing means be accessible from theoutside of the door 12 (outside referring to the opposite side of theopening which is being locked). Thus, as shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, myplates 10 and 11 may be provided with tubular posts 14 which may beintegral therewith and pass through suitable apertures formed in thedoor 12 (or door jamb 13 of FIG. 3). Posts 14 may be either externallyor internally threaded for receiving the shank portion 16 of bolts 17.In this manner, plates 10 and 11 are secured in position without anyscrews or the like visible or accessible from outside of door 12.

As can also be seen in FIG. 2, plate 10 includes upper and lower trackportions 18 and 19, respectively. Similar track portions 20 and 21 areprovided on plate 11 (see FIG. 3). When door 12 is closed so that itmates with door jamb 13 as shown in FIG. 1, the respective trackportions 18, 20 and 19, 21 are aligned as shown. The inner surfaces 22and 23 of plates 10 and 11 also move into mating alignment.

Track portions 18 through 21 are preferably formed by means of elongatedrail members (24, 25 on plate 10; 26, 27 on plate 11). Preferably, therail members 24, 25 of plate 10 are interconnected by end rail member28. This member 28 may include an arcuate cutout portion 29 for reasonsto be discussed further hereinbelow. In like manner, rail members 26 and27 of plate 11 are interconnected by end rail member 30. The free endsof rails 24, 25 of plate 10 and rails 26, 27 of plate 11 are notinterconnected for reasons also to be discussed further hereinbelow.

An extension member 31 is provided on the upper rail member 26 of plate11. Extension member 31 extends downwardly and inwardly toward thecenter of plate 1 1 and has a lip portion 32 at the free end thereof forreasons to be discussed hereinbelow.

Referring now to FIGS. 4 through 7, a generally trapezoidal-shapedpadlock 33 is shown having a main body portion 34. Body portion 34, ascan be seen in FIG. 5, has a central portion 35 (FIG. for receiving aconventional key-receiving cylinder 36 therein. Cylinder 36 may be anysuitable type of mechanism. As can also be seen in FIG. 5, the sideportions 37 of main body portion 34 taper downwardly from centralportion 35 to the ends thereof. Of course, any suitable configurationmay be used. However, the configuration selected uses a minimum amountof material to accomplish a maximum amount of security.

As can be seen in FIGS. 6 and 7, upper and lower tracks 38 extend alongboth elongated sides 39 of the bottom face 40 of main body portion 34.Tracks 38 thus include outwardly extending rail members 41 flush withthe elongated side 29 having integral inwardly extending elongated lipor flange members 42 thereon. Thus, tracks 38 are adapted to engage andslide onto the generally T-shaped tracks 18 through 21 of plates and 11,as will be discussed further hereinbelow. It can be seen in FIG. 6 thattracks 38 do not extend along the bottom or short sides of padlock 33.

' Referring now to FIG. 7, the bottom face 40 of padlock 33 is shown.The bottom of cylinder 36 terminates in a generally cylindrical plate 43having a latchengaging cam member 44 integral therewith. It is to beunderstood that the turning of the plug 45 (FIG. 5) via a key (notshown) in key-receiving slot 46 will rotate plate 43 and thus cam member44 between locked and unlocked positions as is well known in the art.Conventional pin tumblers, not shown, may of course be associated withplug 45.

Again referring to FIG. 7, a latch member 47 is shown mounted on face 40on one side of padlock 33. Latch member 47 is pivotally connected toface 40 by suitable means, such as a screw 48 connected to face 40.Latch member 47 preferably further includes an integral elongated pinmember 49 generally normal thereto extending into an elongated cavity 50formed in the face 40 of padlock 33. Thus, as latch member 47 pivotsabout screw 48, pin member 49, carried thereby, moves up and down withincavity 50. A spring 51, a portion of which is shown in dotted lines, isdisposed in cavity 50 between the lower wall thereof and pin member 49.The normal unlocked position of cam member 44 and latch member 47 isshown in FIG. 7. In this position, it can be seen that cam member 44engages a tapered body portion 52 of latch member 47 and holds latchmember 47 in a position compressing spring 51. As shown in FIG. 8, whencam member 44 is moved downwardly upon rotation of plate 43, spring 51biases pin member 49 upwardly, thus moving latch member 47 upwardly.This is the locked position of latch member 47. The latch member 47 isrestrained between its upper and lower movements by tracks 38. Thethickness of latch member 47 is .such that it can freely move therein.

Referring now to FIG. 9, padlock 33 is shown in position on base plate12. This is accomplished by sliding the tracks 38 of padlock 33 over andonto the T-shaped tracks 18 and 19 of plate 10. This interconnection isclearly visible in FIG. 9 and must be carried out, of course, when door12 is in an open position. Upon closing the door, padlock 33 is slidalong tracks 18 and 19 and onto tracks 20 and 21 of plate 11. The finalposition of padlock 33.on plates 10 and 1 l is clearly shown in FIG. 10.The end rail members 28 and 30 of plates 10 and 11, respectively,prevent the disengagement of padlock 33 by means of plate 43 and latchmember 47 abutting thereagainst. Finally, the operation of latch member47 in its working position is shown in solid and dotted lines in FIGS. 1and 7. Latch member 47 includes, as also shown in FIG. 7, an upwardlyextending lip engaging portion 52. As shown, the normal unlockedposition of latch member 47 is shown in solid lines (see also FIG. 1).As latch member is locked via cylinder 36, the latch member 47 moves tothe upper dotted-line position (see both FIGS. 1 and 7). In thisposition, it can be seen that, upon movement of padlock 33 to the left,lip-engaging portion 52 would engage the lip portion 32 of extensionmember 31. Of course, the padlock 33 must be oriented properly on plates10 and 12; i.e., the side thereof having latch member 47 thereon must beproperly aligned on plate 11. Of course, padlock 33 could be moved tothe right in FIG. 1; however, latch member 47 would abut against endrail 30 and the remainder of padlock 33 on plate 10 would prevent theopening of door 12. Latch member 47 would remain in its locked position.

Any suitable materials may be used to make my padlock assembly. Forexample, metallic materials such as stainless steel, brass, temperedsteel or any similar solid material may be used. The padlock of myassembly can be quickly and easily removed from or installed on baseplates 10, 11. In fact, this can be done with only one hand, if desired,should the user be burdened with packages or the like in his other hand.No hasps, loops or shackles are required which can be easily sawn orout. If acids or the like were poured on my padlock assembly, such acidswould merely roll along the upper surfaces of the tracks and ofi theassembly and not reach any of the working parts thereof. Also, the topand end rails serve to hermetically seal all sides of my padlockassembly. The spring 51 is additionally protected by the walls of cavity50.

No screws, bolts, hinges or any working parts are presented to view whenthe padlock of my assembly is locked in place. Thus, conventionalslotted hinge plates and the like which can be easily broken areeliminated.

In addition, at least some of the parts of my padlock assembly mayinclude a central core of a high-alumina ceramic material surrounded bythe metallic material, such as stainless steel or brass. Such amaterial, for example, the ceramic. material manufactured by the CoorsPorcelain Co., 600 Ninth Street, Golden, Colo., has extreme hardness(for example, 1,700-2,000 Knoop, 9 Mohs) and great mechanical strength(for example, up to 550,000 psi compressive) and thus cannot be cut ordrilled through by known means.

Thus, at'least the main body portion 34, sides 37 and tracks of padlock33, may be made of such a combination of materials and the resultingassembly would thus, in addition to eliminating loops, hasps, andshackles or the like, be extremely resistant to both chemical andphysical attack. The plates 10 and 11 may be made of tempered steel.

1 claim as my invention:

1. A slidablymounted selectively removable padlock assembly comprising:

a pair of elongated generally flat mating base plates adapted to bemounted on a door jamb, respectively, each of said base plates havingtrack portions in selective alignment in the closed position of saiddoor with respect to said door jamb;

a generally trapezoidal-shaped padlock having a centrally located mainbody portion adapted to slidably engage the track portion of said baseplate on said door when said door is in an open position with respect tosaid door jamb and thereafter slidably engage the track portion of thebase plate of said door jamb when said door is in its closed position;

a latch associated with said padlock, said latch being entirely enclosedby said padlock when said padlock is slidably mounted on both of saidbase plates, said latch including a pin integral therewith extendinginto a cavity in the bottom of said padlock, said pin being normallybiased in a direction forcing said latch into its locked position;

latch moving means associated with said padlock including a keyreceiving rotatable cylinder disposed in said main body portion of saidpadlock and having a cam member adapted to engage said latch uponrotation of said cylinder for selectively moving said latch between itslocked and an unlocked position; and

a latch engaging member fixedly mounted on the base plate of said doorjamb, said latch engaging member being entirely enclosed by said padlockwhen said padlock is slidably mounted on both of said base plates, saidlatch engaging member being adapted to engage said latch in its lockedposition and prevent movement of said padlock off of said base plateswhen said padlock is slidably mounted on both of said base plates andsaid latch is in its locked position.

2. The padlock assembly of claim 1 wherein said pin is biased by aspring member disposed in said cavity.

1. A slidably mounted sElectively removable padlock assembly comprising:a pair of elongated generally flat mating base plates adapted to bemounted on a door jamb, respectively, each of said base plates havingtrack portions in selective alignment in the closed position of saiddoor with respect to said door jamb; a generally trapezoidal-shapedpadlock having a centrally located main body portion adapted to slidablyengage the track portion of said base plate on said door when said dooris in an open position with respect to said door jamb and thereafterslidably engage the track portion of the base plate of said door jambwhen said door is in its closed position; a latch associated with saidpadlock, said latch being entirely enclosed by said padlock when saidpadlock is slidably mounted on both of said base plates, said latchincluding a pin integral therewith extending into a cavity in the bottomof said padlock, said pin being normally biased in a direction forcingsaid latch into its locked position; latch moving means associated withsaid padlock including a key receiving rotatable cylinder disposed insaid main body portion of said padlock and having a cam member adaptedto engage said latch upon rotation of said cylinder for selectivelymoving said latch between its locked and an unlocked position; and alatch engaging member fixedly mounted on the base plate of said doorjamb, said latch engaging member being entirely enclosed by said padlockwhen said padlock is slidably mounted on both of said base plates, saidlatch engaging member being adapted to engage said latch in its lockedposition and prevent movement of said padlock off of said base plateswhen said padlock is slidably mounted on both of said base plates andsaid latch is in its locked position.
 2. The padlock assembly of claim 1wherein said pin is biased by a spring member disposed in said cavity.